Reinforced seam



Oct. 23, 1962 H. w. RUSSELL ET AL 3,059,602

REINFORCED SEAM Filed Oct. 2, 1959 IN V EN TOR5 Harvey Hf. Russe [EEC7am! R4455 eZ. Z

ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofiice 7 3,059,602 Patented Oct. 23, 1962New York Filed Oct. 2, 1959, Ser. No. 844,036 3 Claims. (Cl. 112-462)This invention relates to improved seams for sewed articles. Morespecifically, it pertains to reinforced seams for sewing together theparallel overlying edges of superimposed layers of fabric.

An object of the invention is to provide a reinforced seam for sewingtogether the overlying edges of superimposed layers of fabric in which astitch, having a plurality of needle threads forming a series of loopsthrough the fabric and at least one looper thread cooperating with theloops of the needle threads for locking the latter in the fabric, isformed inwardly of the edges of the fabric and spaced therefrom and anoveredge stitch is formed to extend over the edge and inwardly of theedges to overlie at least one needle thread .and looper thread.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a reinforced seam forsecuring together the overlying edges of superimposed layers of fabricin which a 406 stitch, having a pair of needle threads forming twoseries of spaced parallel loops through the fabric layers and a looperthread cooperating with the needle threads for locking the loops in thefabric, is formed inwardly of the overlying edges and spaced therefromand an overedge stitch is formed to extend inwardly from the edges andoverlie one of the series of needle thread loops and the cooperatinglooper thread.

Another object of the invention is to provide .a reinforced seam whereinan overedge stitch, having one needle thread and at least one looperthread, is formed to extend inwardly of the overlying parallel edges ofsuperimposed layers of material to overlie one of the needle threads andthe cooperating looper thread of a stitch having a plurality of needlethreads and one looper thread, which is formed inwardly and spaced fromthe fabric edges.

A further object of the invention is to provide a reinforced seam forsecuring together the overlying parallel edges of superimposed layers ofmaterial in which a 406 stitch, having a pair of needle threads formingtwo series of spaced parallel loops through the fabric layers and alooper thread cooperating with the needle threads for locking the loopsin the fabric, is formed inwardly of the overlying edges and spacedtherefrom, .and a 503 stitch, having one needle thread and onecooperating looper thread, is formed to extend inwardly of the edges sothat the 503 looper thread overlies at least one series of 406 needlethread loops and the 503 needle thread overlies a portion of the 406looper thread.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a reinforced seamfor securing together the overlying edges of superimposed layers ofmaterial which is adapted to be machine sewn, resists unravelling, haselasticity, is strong and presents a neat appearance.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the specification andclaims when considered in connection with the attached drawing,illustrating one form of the invention, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective View of superimposed layers of fabric havingtheir overlying parallel edges secured together by a reinforced seamembodying the concepts of the invention.

Primarily, the instant invention resides in the concept of cooperativelycombining a stitch having a plurality of needle threads ,and a looperthread with'an overedge stitch having one needle thread and one or morelooper threads for securing together the overlying edges of superimposedlayers of material, in such a manner that the overedge stitch overliesat least one needle thread and the cooperating looper thread of thefirst stitch to prevent unravelling thereof in the event a threadbreaks.

The stitches and stitch classes referred to herein are standardclassification as defined in Stitches; Seams; and Stitching; FederalSpecification, DDD-S-751, (August 21, 1953).

While according to the invention, any stitch of the 400 class or thelike, having a plurality of needle threads forming loops through thematerial layers and a single looper thread cooperating with the needlethreads for locking the loops in the material, such as a 402, 403 or 406class stitch, may be utilized in cooperative combination with anyoveredge stitch, having one needle thread and one or more looperthreads, such as a 502, 503, 504 or 505 class stitch, to provide theimproved reinforced seam, in the illustrated form of the invention, forthe purpose of explanation, a reinforced seam 10 embodying a 406 stitch11 and a 503 overedge stitch 12 is shown for securing together overlyingedges 13 and 14 of superimposed fabric layers 15 and 16.

The 406 stitch 11, which according to the invention, is inwardly spacedand parallel the overlying edges 13 and 14 of the superimposed fabric orlike layers 15 and 16, includes a pair of needle threads 17 and 18forming two parallel spaced series of needle loops 17a and 18a extendingthrough the fabric layers at 17b and 18b, respectively. A looper thread19 cooperates with the needle thread 17 and 18 for locking the needlethread loops 17a and 18a in their respective positions in the fabric.The 503 overedge stitch 12, which includes a needle thread 20 and acooperating looper thread 21, is formed so that the needle thread 20enters the layers of fabric between the two series of loops of needlethreads 17 and 18 of the 406 stitch and parallel thereto. The needlethread 20 of the 503 overedge stitch on being passed through the layersof fabric at 22 forms a loop 23 which overlies a portion of the looperthread 19, at 19a, of the 406 stitch, pressing the same into engagementwith the surface of the fabric. The looper thread 21 of the overedgestitch 12 locks the loops 23 of the needle thread 20 in their respectivepositions relative to the fabric layers and on being passed across thesurface of one of the fabric layers, as at 21a, overlies the needlethread 18 of the 406 stitch at 180. In this manner the needle thread 20and the looper thread 21 of 503 overedge stitch 12 cooperates with the406 stitch 11 to prevent the latter from unravelling in the event thatone of the threads thereof should break and in combination with thelatter stitch provides a reinforced seam for securing together theoverlying parallel edges of superimposed layers of material.

It will readily be understood by those conversant with the art that theindividual characteristics, i.e. elasticity, strength, durability andappearance, of each of the stitches is retained, while their utility isadditionally enhanced by the cooperative relationship therebetween.

Thus, among others, the several objects and advantages of the inventionas aforenoted are achieved. Obviously numerous changes in the structuremay be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention asdefined by the claims.

We claim:

1. In a reinforced seam including superimposed layers of fabric havingparallel overlying edges: the improvement comprising a 406 stitch formedinwardly of said edges and spaced therefrom, said 406 stitch including apair of needle threads forming two series of spaced parallel loopsextending through said fabric layers and a looper thread cooperatingwith said series of needle thread loops for locking said loops in saidlayers, and an overedge stitch extending inwardly of said edges of thefabric and overlying at least one of said series of needle thread loopsand cooperating looper thread.

2. In a reinforced seam including superimposed layers of fabric havingparallel overlying edges: the improvement comprising a 406 stitchinwardly spaced from said edges and parallel thereto, said 406 stitchincluding a pair of needle threads forming two series of spaced parallelloops extending through said fabric layers and a looper threadcooperating with said series of needle thread loops for locking saidloops in said layers, and an overedge stitch extending inwardly of saidedges of the fabric and overlying the one of said series of needlethread loops adjacent said edges and the cooperating looper thread.

3. In a reinforced seam including superimposed layers of fabric havingparallel overlying edges: the improvement comprising a 406 stitchinwardly spaced from said edges and parallel thereto, said 406 stitchincluding a pair of needle threads forming two series of spaced parallelloops extending through said fabric layers and a looper threadcooperating with said series of needle thread loops for locking saidloops in said layers, and a 503 overedge stitch, said 503 stitchincluding a needle thread forming a series of loops extending throughsaid layers between and parallel said pair of 406 needle thread seriesand a looper thread cooperating with said series of 503 needle threadloops for locking the loops in said fabric, said 503 needle threadoverlying said 406 looper thread and said 503 looper thread overlyingsaid 406 needle thread series closest to said fabric edges.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,204,046 McLoughlin Nov. 7, 1916 2,079,569 Christensen May 4, 19372,135,779 Zayotti Nov. 8, 1938 2,834,309 Russell et al May 13, 1958OTHER REFERENCES Federal Standard Stock Catalogue, section IV, part 5,March 1930.

